Envelop.



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A. J, HUGHES.-

ENVELOP.

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ENVELOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1907.

Application filed October 23. 1905. Serial No. 283.955.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT J. HUGHES, of St. Anthony Park, Ramsey county, Minnesota, have invented certain new and` useful Improvements in Envelops, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to envelops and particularly .to those containing or to be attached to registered mail matter.

In the handling of registered mail it is customary to provide a large envelop or jacket in which several registered letters or packages for the same postoffice are placed and the envelop sealed by the postmaster sending it, and marked with the name of the postofiice at the destination. As the envelop travels toward its destination it is turned over at the end of one railway mail route by the clerk of that route to the clerk of the next or contiguous one, and each clerk as the package passes through his hands indorses his name on the envelop in a blank provided for the purpose, and also makes an entry in a book descriptive of the package, whereby the postmaster at the destination can ascertain from an examination of the envelop the names of the clerks who handled'it and each clerk will have a record of all registered envelops passing through his hands. This is the usual way of handling registered mail, but where there is a large volume of business the present method has been found very irksome and. laborious as it takes the clerk a long time to make a record of each package and the proper indorsements on each envelop.

The object, therefore, of my invention is to provide an envelop whereby the handling of registered mail by the railway mail clerks will be greatly facilitated.

The invention consists generally in providing an envelop adapted to contain registered mail matter, or to be attached to such matter as a tag, and having a series of duplicate record slips one of which each clerk will detach from the envelop and retain for record after signing his name to the original record slip, which has been previously filled out by the postmaster at the receiving office.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of an envelop blank embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view illustrating the blank folded into the form of an envelop7 in which the mail matter is placed. Fig. 3 is a similar view with the edges of the flaps turned back showing the glued surfaces. Fig. 4 is a view of the envelop after it is sealed and the address written upon the original record sheet.

In the drawing, 2 represents the main portion or body of the blank forming the envelop, having flaps 3 at each end provided with gummed surfaces 4 which are moistened and stuck together in the usual way in making the envelop. The iiap 5 is then folded over upon the iiaps 3, and said flap 5 has a gummed edge 6 and a slit 7 extending parallel with said edge nearly the full length of the iiap. Flap 5 is also secured to the gummed surfaces 4 of the flaps 3. These surfaces 4 extend nearly across the flaps and lengthwise thereof and serve not only to hold the flaps themselves together, but to secure them to the longitudinal iiap 5. A iiap 8 is provided on the opposite edge of the blank I whereon a tongue 9 is formed having a gummed outer surface 10, said tongue being adapted to be inserted between the edge of' the iiap 5 and the flaps 3. The flap 8 is inserted through the slit 7 and the metal fastener 1 1 bent down .around the opposite edgeY of the envelop and the envelop is then sealed by moistening the gummed surface 6 and pressing it down upon the outer surface' of the iiap 8. A gummed flap 11 may also be provided as an additional means for fastening the envelop flap. The insertion of the tongue 9 beneath the iiap 5 leaves an opening 12 through the flap 8, and beneath this opening and secured to the flap 5 by any suitable means, as by rivets 13, are a series of ruled sheets 14 having carbon undersurfaces whereby any writing on the upper or first sheet of the series will appear on the duplicate ones beneath, there being a suitable number of these duplicate sheets according to the number of clerks likely to handle the registered package from the receiving postoflice to the destination.

At the time of sealing the envelop thel postmaster sending the registered letter will enter on the top sheet 14 a full description of the package, including the number, the names of the sending and receiving postofiices, and any other data necessary or useful in identifying the package. The address on the original sheet will be plainlyvisible through the opening 12, and it will not be necessary to detach the flap 8 to ascertain the destination of the envelop. The original sheet will be provided with a series of blank passes through his hands will sign his name,

and then tear off one of the duplicate sheets beneath and thus retain a complete description and record of the envelop, and then forward it to the next clerk in line toward the destination. It will not be necessary for the clerks to have record books, as each record sheetwill have full data descriptive of4 the package and bear the signatures of all the clerks through whose hands the package has previously passed. The iiap 8 will, while the envelop is in the mail, cover the yrecord sheets and prevent them from being accidentallyT torn off or mutilated.

I have shown the invention as applied to an envelop in which the registered mail matter is placed, but it is also adapted for use with an envelop that is attached to the package in the form of a tag.

The carbon sheets may be secured to an ordinary envelop, and a suitable flap with or without the opening therein employed to cover the sheets and protect them from mutilation in the mails.

I claim as my invention:

1. An envelop having end aps adapted to be folded over and secured together, and side flaps, one of them having a gummed edge and a longitudinal slit, and a series of duplicate carbon sheets secured thereto and having blanks to receive the name of the postolice for which the envelop is intended, the other flap being adapted to be inserted into said slit and having a gummed tongue that is slipped in between the front of the envelop and the gummed edge of said irst named side flap, and said tongue forming an opening in said second named side flap through which the address on said upper duplicate sheet is visible, and a suitable fastening device for securing the edge of said second named side flap to the edge of the envelop, substantially as described.

2. An envelop for registered mail having a pocket for the mail matter and a series of duplicate carbon sheets secured thereto, the upper sheet being designed to receive the name of the postoi'lioe to which the envelop is directed and a description of the package, and blank spaces for the signatures oi" the clerks through whose hands the envelop passes, and a flap arranged to close the mouth of said pocket and close the envelop and partially cover and protect the said carbon sheets, and said flap having an opening through which the upper carbon sheet is visible when the envelop is sealed, substantially as described. 3. An envelop for registered mail having a pocket to receive the registered mail matter and a series of duplicate carbon sheets, the upper sheet being designed to receive the name of the postoilice for which the envelop is intended and a description of the package, and blank spaces for the signatures of the clerks through whose hands the envelop passes, and a flap arranged to close themouth of said pocket, and having a sealing means adapted to be inserted between said pocket and said carbon sheets and a temporary fastening on its free edge, and said flap also having an opening between said sealing means and said temporary fastening thro ugh which opening the upper carbon sheet is visible when the envelop is closed and sealed.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of October 1905.

ALBERT J. HUGHES. 

